Schickler's Compelling Characters Leave One Crying For More

June 24, 2001|By KRISTEN FABISZEWSKI

KISSING IN MANHATTAN

By David Schickler, Dial Press, $21.95, 288 pp.

David Schickler's witty and inventive first book, ``Kissing in Manhattan,'' introduces a set of young Manhattanites whose lives are all linked in some way with a venerable West Side edifice, the Preemption apartment building. A gargoyle-festooned brownstone complete with an antique hand-operated elevator and an ageless, omniscient doorman, the Preemption is as dark and mysteriously beautiful as the tales Schickler has created.

``Kissing in Manhattan'' begins as a series of loosely connected short stories; aside from minor geographical details, what they all have in common is the search for love and understanding, and the struggle with loneliness until that love is found. Schickler's vivid characters keep the stories fresh and entertaining, preventing the repetition of themes from seeming monotonous.

Jacob marries Sarah out of a thinly veiled reluctance to be alone, but an enduring relationship develops, based less on romance than on a ritual that begins on their wedding night. Jeremy, an actor and comedian of questionable talent, finds success behind the mask of a mouse suit, and trades that success to reveal himself to a woman who has only known him as a failure. Douglas is a high school English teacher who finds himself thinking of his top student, Nicole, a little too often. Her parents invite him to their penthouse for dinner as a thank you for her college recommendations, serving up a surprise in place of dessert. Hilarious yet poignant, these stories are able to stand alone quite sufficiently. Eventually, however, a celebration of millennial debauchery interweaves the characters and leads us to a love triangle that forms the true heart of the book.

Patrick, a wealthy and intimidating stock trader with a troubled childhood, surrounds himself with multitudinous beautiful women every night, searching for ``the woman who'll make me need and want only her, then I won't need and want all the others. ... I will see this and pounce and never let her go.'' One woman who might fit the bill is Rally, a travel writer. Patrick approaches her at a nightclub one night, and she soon becomes drawn into his usual routines of dinner, drinks and a little light bondage. But before Patrick can decide if she is the woman he has been searching for, Rally meets his roommate, James Branch. The polar opposite of Patrick in many ways, James is a reclusive accountant with a reformed stutter and a special fondness for the antique Otis elevator in his home, the Preemption. When James and Rally fall for one another, chaos ensues.

However entertaining this scenario is, it does highlight a flaw in Schickler's book. Clearly, among the author's gifts as a storyteller is the ability to create intriguing, vibrant characters. The earlier chapters are full of these characters, and stories that offer a small slice of their lives. The richness of these individual stories backfires, unfortunately, because these small glimpses are only a tease -- you end up wanting to hear more about these people, and the latter part of the book provides only cameo appearances for them. Any of these characters -- especially Douglas and Nicole (the stars of ``The Smoker,'' Schickler's attention-winning debut story in The New Yorker), could merit a novel unto themselves, so much so that our brief introduction to them is ultimately a little frustrating.

Still, this is a winning debut. Schickler's prose -- dry, ironic, deadpan at times, adds depth and complexity. Nicole's explanation for why her cat is toilet-trained: ``It's the truth, sir. It took Father eons to train him, but he did it. We don't even have a litter box. Father was a marine.'' Jacob ruminating on his wedding night: ``Maybe a month into the marriage she would demand magic: a move to the Upper East Side, tickets to Carmen, papaya for breakfast. What if she suddenly decided that California was an important place? Or craved oysters? Or wanted to discuss Churchill?''

Clever phrasing and darkly funny characters make this an entertaining read; hopefully Schickler's next venture will allow us a fuller glimpse into his character's lives.

Kristen Fabiszewski is a free-lance writer in New York. She wrote this review for The Courant.